So I did my biggest 5 gal beer today, a total of 19 lbs of grain. I was hoping for a IIPA with an OG of 8.7 but it was more in the low 7's.
I should have known something was off when my first runnings were 1.075 and my second runnings were 1.045. But I had reached my pre-boil volume of 7.5 gal and I had some friends over from the local homebrew club and I wasn't thinking, so I didn't do a second batch sparge.
Should I have done that and then just boiled longer? I'm not sure what to do in this situation. I guess I could have collected more wort and done a smaller batch like a partigyle but I really wanted this beer to be higher in ABV.
What would you have done?
I should have known something was off when my first runnings were 1.075 and my second runnings were 1.045. But I had reached my pre-boil volume of 7.5 gal and I had some friends over from the local homebrew club and I wasn't thinking, so I didn't do a second batch sparge.
Should I have done that and then just boiled longer? I'm not sure what to do in this situation. I guess I could have collected more wort and done a smaller batch like a partigyle but I really wanted this beer to be higher in ABV.
What would you have done?